Djinn
by annem57
Summary: Magic can happen, and happiness is a choice


Djinn

Not mine. Pity.

Timeframe is maybe season 4.

The last sixty seconds of his conversation with Kate Beckett still rang in Richard Castle's ears as he walked down the street towards his home. He still couldn't believe how a pleasant talk together had gone downhill so fast. And all he could remember now was Beckett's scathing comment as she walked away from him earlier.

"You know what, Castle? You can just go to hell, for all I care. It's MY life, not your amusement park!"

He opened his mouth, only to have her cut him off. "If you want to salvage anything of our partnership, just SHUT UP!" She got into her cruiser, and all he saw was the flash of taillights as she sped away.

He was trying to replay the conversation, but all he could hear was the venom in her tone. He shook his head, and kept walking towards home. Shoulders slumped, feet dragging - all he had ever wanted was for Kate to be happy. He stopped, threw his head back and took in a gulping breath. He exhaled noisily, shook his head again, and was about to resume his slow walk when he heard a tinkling noise ahead of him. As his head swiveled towards the noise, he saw the gleam of gold, so he took another few steps, bent down, and picked up the shining object.

Rick lifted the coin so he could see what it was in the light. His eyes opened in surprise as he recognized the gold Daric from the reign of Darius of Persia. 'This coin has got to be nearly twenty-five hundred years old!' he thought. 'Someone must have dropped it.' He immediately started to look around the darkened street, and saw a man coming towards him. "Excuse me, sir? Are you looking for something?"

The man stepped closer, and responded, "Yes, I am. And it looks like you've found it. Thank you, Mr Castle."

Rick had been reaching towards the stranger, but stopped abruptly when the man called him by name. "How do you know who I am?"

"Oh, Mr Castle," he said with a chuckle, "you'll find that I know a great many things."

Rick took a couple of steps back, and found himself backed up against a wall. He wondered about that, as he was sure that he had been in the middle of the footpath. He had unconsciously gripped the coin, and finally gathered enough sense to reach for his cellphone when the dark man stopped him.

"Allow me to introduce myself, Mr Castle. I am Vahumisa of Persia, and I have chosen that you be granted a wish."

"Don't you mean three wishes?" he shot back, then mentally cringed at the inherent smart-alecness of the comment.

Vahumisa threw his head back and a rich laugh was heard. "Walt Disney has a lot to answer for!" He looked at Rick, and asked, "So, what else do you know of the Djinn, Mr Castle?"

"Well," Rick replied as he started to calm down, "there's the three wish thing, plus what Disney says - no raising people from the dead, no wishing for more wishes, no wishing for someone to love you," he grimaced at that. "Ooh, from the X-Files, you have to be really precise or it'll backfire."

The djinn nodded as Rick listed what he knew. At the last one, he said, "The djinnayah have always been tricksters." He shook his head as if upset.

"Can I use my wish to free you?" Rick asked. The djinn laughed that rich, genuine laugh again, and his response surprised the writer.

"Mr Castle, I am a free djinn." He considered the human for a moment, and added, "you like to know the story, do you not?" At Rick's eager nod, he told the story of a young Persian who had wanted to rule, but was tricked by a djinnayah,and was then imprisoned by many masters over the centuries. Then, he came to belong to a very old, very wise man, who used his first wish to set Vahumisa free. Rather than leave the old one, the djinn had stayed to be taught, and had become a very wise man himself. Interestingly, he found himself still able to grant wishes, but he was very selective. "So, Mr Castle. What do you wish for?"

Rick's eyes lit up as a whole world of possibilities ran mental riot through his brain, but he sobered quickly. He look the djinn directly in his dark brown eyes, and asked, "So, no tricks from you, right?"

Vahumisa nodded gravely and responded, "I will grant the spirit of the wish. That is how I choose to use my gift."

"I have everything I could possibly want. Can I make a wish for someone else?" At the djinn's nod, he pressed forward with his request. "All I want is for Kate Beckett to be happy. To allow herself to be happy. I know you can't bring her mom back," he continued in a rush, "and you can't give her back the years that her dad wasn't there for her, but you can help her choose to be happy, can't you?"

"What if Kate Beckett's happiness does not include you?"

The writer looked troubled for a brief moment, then he nodded again. "I just want Kate to be happy. If I'm not part of that, I'll learn to deal with it." Rick was fairly sure by now that Vahumisa knew just how irrevocably Richard Castle was in love with Katherine Beckett, and how much it would cost Rick to not be a part of her life. Rick sighed, and prepared for his doom.

Once again, Rick heard that rich chuckle. "Mr Castle, I knew I had chosen well when I gave you the coin. Keep it, as a reminder." As Rick looked at the djinn again, he heard the being say, "Wish granted."

There was no puff of smoke, no 'I Dream of Jeannie' boing, just a feeling inside of Rick's chest that caught and snagged as he breathed. 'So, this is what losing the love of your life feels like,' he thought. 'So long as Kate's happy, I'll learn to deal with it.' He tossed the gold Daric in the air, caught it, and placed it safely in his pocket, then he continued his trip home.

Just outside the doors of the loft, he sent Kate a text.

'Whatever I've done in the past, whatever I did tonight, I'm sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.'

There was no answering text, and he fell into bed, and into a surprisingly dreamless sleep.

The next morning, he made his way up to Homicide, bearing the usual breakfast gifts of coffee and pastries. He was only mildly surprised to see that Kate hadn't shown up yet. "Guys? Where's Beckett?"

Ryan looked up and replied, "She's taking some personal time."

"A month, she said." Esposito added. "Didn't she tell you?"

Castle shook his head, then asked, "Anything happening?"

"Nah, just paperwork."

He nodded once, then gave the guys the coffee and pastries. At their nonplussed looks, he said, "I'm gonna go home and write, but call if you catch something hinky." He gave the boys a brief wave as he left the floor.

Half an hour later, he was back home, hard at work.

The month that Beckett had asked for was up, and Rick had obeyed the text that Beckett had sent him on Day 2.

'I gotta do something. I'll contact you.'

Since then, nothing. It was the Summer of Pain all over again, only worse. He had been told by a number of people that Beckett had been dating a different guy each night. He had also had personal communication from Tom Demming, Josh Davidson, and Will Sorenson, and they had each given him pretty much the same story.

Kate had called them, and gone out with them. Each man had come away with the feeling that Kate was ready to get back together with them, and was just working things out.

Each time he heard that tale, he died a little more.

The only real upside for him was that he had finished 'Dimming Heat', and had gotten halfway through 'Vengeful Heat'. Gina thought that 'Dimming Heat' was probably his best yet, and that 'Vengeful Heat' was even better. Rick thought that his writing was a gift from the djinn, to give him something to compensate for the obvious loss of Kate. In 'Dimming Heat', he had Jameson Rook get shot, and Rook was in a coma and not expected to recover. No prizes for guessing how Rick was feeling about the loss of Beckett.

He had just taken a break to try to choke down some lunch when there was a firm knock on the front door. He ambled over, checked the peephole, and nearly fell over in surprise.

On the other side of the door, large as life, was Kate Beckett.

He took a deep breath, plastered his best fake smile on, and opened the door. "Detective Beckett. What can I do for you?"

The smile that adorned her face faltered a little with his formality, but she recovered quickly. "Hey, Rick. Is it okay if I come in?" she asked in a gentle voice.

At his nod, she entered, and looked around. He gestured to the sofa, and she sat while he remained standing. She looked at him quizzically, then smiled broadly and patted the leather next to her. "Please, Rick. Come sit with me."

All the air seemed to leave his body as his shoulders drooped. He slowly made his way to the sofa, and sat down, as far from her as he could. Once again, the questioning look crossed Kate's face, and she leant back into the lounge and observed the man she thought of as her best friend. "Rick." she ordered gently. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"Are you happy, Kate?"

The response was unexpected, but she answered him. "Yes, Rick. I'm happy."

He nodded. "That's good. I'm glad. That you're happy."

"But you're not. What's the matter? Is it Alexis?"

He looked at her for the first time, and shook his head. "Then, what's the problem, Rick? I want to help."

"I know how you've spent the last month. I've had Demming, Doctor Motorcycle Boy, and Super Agent Sorenson tell me what a great time they had with you, and they each expect you to get back together with them." No anger, just overwhelming sadness in his tone.

Kate hadn't expected that - not to hear that the three men had made a point of talking to Castle, and certainly not to hear that each of them thought that he was her 'one and done' - and she understood in a heartbeat why Rick was so sad. "I'm not going to apologize for going out, Rick. I needed to make sure."

"Make sure of what?"

Instead of answering that question, she explained how she'd woken up on that morning thirty-one days ago, and could no longer feel the wall that had been a part of her for so many years. She finally saw that she didn't need to solve her mom's case; didn't need to get justice; didn't need to not be happy. Kate had woken up that morning, surrounded by her parents' love, and knew that she was allowed to be happy. So, each day, she did something that made her happy, and each night she went out. She felt it necessary to see the men from her past, and although the dates were fun, she didn't feel happy with them.

She finished her recounting of the past month by saying, "I knew I needed to find the one man who I could spend my life being happy with."

"Did you find him?" came out in a sad, sad whisper.

"I did," she replied gently. It was a tone that Rick hadn't heard in Kate's voice before today.

"Well, congratulations, then. Go and be happy, Kate. That's all I've ever wanted for you." It was all breathed out in a whisper.

"I plan on it."

Rick closed his eyes, and hunkered in on himself - making himself as small as possible to try to deflect the blow that he knew was coming. Instead, he heard the leather squeak as she moved. 'Leaving without a word,' he thought, but then he startled as he felt Kate put her hands on his knees. He felt a slim finger and thumb grip his chin, oh-so-softly, and a whispered, "Please, Rick. Open your eyes for me."

He did as he was bid, and opened his eyes to see Kate's face not six inches from his. He raised an eyebrow, and she said. "It's you, Rick. You're the one I choose to be happy with."

"M-m-me?" he stammered. She smiled again, and stroked his cheek gently. "Really?"

"It was always you," she said as she leant in to kiss him.

At the very first touch of her lips to his, the ice that had encased his heart seemed to shatter, and the warmth flowed from her to him in an unending stream. As he kissed her in return, he could have sworn that he heard a deep, rich chuckle in the background.


End file.
